Hospital Visits
by MarcoDelMarco
Summary: Alejandro lost the million. Everyone hates him as he lays broken in his hospital bed...everyone except Tyler, his one true friend from his time on Total Drama.


'She chose the money. She chose the money over me and left me….' Alejandro winced in pain, physical and emotional, 'she left me to die.'

The tan teen lay in his hospital bed lamenting the time he had lost on that damn reality show, and all the people he grew to know. As he lay there under the harsh florescent lights with his mangled (though still quite buff) body in bandages and casts, he wondered if it was worth it at all. He had lost the million. He had humiliated himself on international television. And when he finally thought he had found someone, just one person in this horrid world, who he thought understood him….she abandoned him. She abandoned him and left him to burn in a torrent of molten lava.

He never felt so alone.

'Did she ever really love me?' he thought to himself, 'or was she just playing the game?' He looked up at the blank black television screen on the wall above him. In it, he saw reflected the husk of the man he once was. His hair singed off and head wrapped in bandages, broken legs in casts, shattered arms in slings, his once handsome face covered in bruises and skin grafts, not to mention the various tubes running in and out of him. For the young man who loves his looks and latin charm nearly above all else this was a terrible sight.

'I know I was a dick, that I wasn't the most honorable of contestants' he remembered Bridget and LeShawna and how he betrayed them, 'but do I really disserve this?'

He looked around his empty hospital room as if he was expecting an answer to jump out at him. But none did. He was alone, and in pain. His family was on their way from his native land but would not be there for a day or so. But still, Alejandro had expected at least someone to come visit him. Sierra and Blaineley were down the hall recovering from their injuries from the show, and up past her was Heather, the woman who smashed his heart for a million bucks and who was recovering from a particularly large flaming rock landing on her as they fled the sight of the final challenge. All of them had visitors. All of them had people who liked them, people who cared at least a little.

But not Al.

He had no one.

So he lay there broken, beaten, and forgotten. The boy shut his eyes, not wanting to think about anything, and fell asleep as a single tear fell and moistened his bandages.

The World Tour runner up slept for some time, having uneasy dreams of unpleasant memories, until he woke up feeling a sharp pain on his right arm. As he opened his eyes he expected to see a nurse, or Chef dressed as a nurse, giving him yet another shot or a new IV, but instead he saw a red blur. As his eyes began to focuses the blur began to take shape into a tracksuit and he saw that the pain on his arm was from the unusually tight grip of his visitor.

"Tyler? You're kind of hurting my arm…"

"What? Oh!" he released his grip with embarrassment, "Sorry bro! I didn't mean to wake you, my fingers are too strong I guess…" He looked down at his sneakers blushing.

"No, no my friend…It is alright. I'm just glad you're here, or…that someone is here at all."

"Yeah, everyone else is down the hall with the Sierra, that blond chick, and Heather. After she won this HUGE flaming rock shot out of the volcano and pounded her head! It was so-" Tyler stopped and looked at Al's unsmiling face and was again embarrassed. "Sorry dude, I forgot you two were a couple-"

"We are not together." Al responded sharply, "She kicked me in the kiwis, pushed me off the volcano, and made me lose a million dollars. That is not the bases of a healthy relationship, to say the least."

"Uuh…" awkward "sorry? I'm not really good with making people feel better, but…"

Before Alejandro could say anything, Tyler quickly leaned over his bed and gave him a hug. It was warm, and he could feel Tyler's strong hands give him a little squeeze as his light brown hair fell on the injured boy face. Al was not use to physical displays of affection, being from a very reserved family, so he didn't know how to respond. This was new to him, but he liked it. It was nice to be able to feel someone caring about you. Even if it did hurt his broken ribs.

"Feel better?" Tyler asked in an awkward voice.

"…yeah, yeah I do actually." And then for the first time in days, Alejandro smiled.

"So Tyler," Alejandro tentatively asked, "how much do the other hate me now? I mean, it's been like three days and nobody but you has come to see me. Well Chris did, but only to get me to sign another waiver."

"Uuh, well…."Tyler avoided eye contact and rubbed the back of his head nervously, "You're not exactly Mr. Popular any more. Before the finally pretty much everyone hated you except me, Courtney, Lin, and Katie and Sadie. And after you planted one on Heather…they kind of hate you too now…"

"…oh…" Alejandro felt the pang of yet another injury.

"But don't get down bro!" Tyler threw up his hands, as if the stop the bad feelings from getting to his friend, "It ain't all bad! You're all people are talking about on the Total Drama forums." The idea of Total Drama fangirls on the internet 'LOL'ing about him did not seem to lift his spirits. "And hey," Tyler playfully punched Al's arm, causing him to wince again "You've still got me."

"…yeah I do, don't I?" Al looked up at the wishes-he-were-a-jock who was giving him a double thumbs up to try and make him feel better. And he did.

"Tyler," he asked, "Why are you still here? Not that I'm not grateful, because I really, really am." He smiled up at him from his bed, "But everyone else abandoned me…why not you?"

Tyler blinked in amazement.

"Dude, because you're my bud." He sat down in a chair next to the hospital bed, "Nobody else on this show, not even Lindsey, has been as good to me." He looked down at his trainers in embarrassment once again, "You're the only one who's ever, like, shown an interest in me as a person."

Alejandro sat and listened, not really believing what he was hearing. Tyler was a great guy! Why would nobody else on the cast want to get to know him?

"I think it's cause I'm kind of a spaz sometimes…"

"No. My friend, you are not a spaz!"

"Yes I am." He didn't even look up, "I know it. Lindsey was the only person on that show to see past that, to see that I'm not useless…and half the time she can't even remember my name!" He hit his fist on the arm of his chair in frustration.

"I….I'll always remember your name, Tyler."

Alejandro looked up at the jock and held out his hand. Tyler, a little confused but happy, smiled and took it. He gripped it tight.

"I know man, I know."

"Hey man," Tyler threw himself down in his chair next to his friend's bed, "I hear they're starting filming season four today. Chris got a new cast for this season, said he's giving us all a break."

"Awesome amigo! I only wish I didn't have to spend it like this." He gestured to his legs.

"Yeah, well, hey! At least your face looks good again. And your hair's growing back nice." He ruffled Al's short hair. It had slowly, but surly come back. And it was true, his face had healed nicely. The doctors' said there would be virtually no sign of scaring. With his head healed up, it was now only his legs and forearms that were incapacitated. In fact he would be well enough to leave the hospital soon.

"It is true. Even a river of lava cannot burn away these good looks." Gives playful wink and seductive smile.

"Heh heh, yeah." Tyler blushed.

Alejandro sat up in his bed so that he was on level with the boy sitting next to him. It had been nearly a month since the disaster in Hawaii. And yet every day, every single day, Tyler had come to see him. He looked at his friend smiling, and for the first time noticed…how nice he looked. He had a strong jaw, really nice café colored hair to match his eyes, and such a strong (if not so coordinated) body. Al couldn't help but admire it.

But it wasn't just Tyler's physical self he was looking at, no, he saw much more. If he cared only about surface looks he could just take a gander at Justin, or Lindsey, or even a mirror. No, he saw Tyler's fun loving spirit. He heard his awkward yet adorable laugh and his overly enthusiastic 'All right!". And he saw the guy's ever optimistic view on life, so unlike his own…he had never really seen anyone else like this, not even Heather. He had thought he found a kindred soul in her, but now he knew she was far from it.

But Tyler…..the latin teen would have continued his thought, but the object of them began to speak.

"Hey Alejandro? You remember a while back when I said you were the best person I've met on the show?"

"Huh?" Al snapped out of his thoughts and back into the present, "Oh, of course! It was very, very nice….it meant a lot to me." He smiled again, not playing this time.

"Well, I've been think about it, about what you said and what I said…."he closed his eyes and took a breath, whatever he was about to say must have been on his mind for a while, "I wanted to know…where are we?"

"I-I do not think I understand." His young heat began to pound, and he didn't quite know why.

"I mean, I guess I should say-Ah crap, I'm no good at this." Another deep breath, "I mean What are we? You mean a lot to me and…and I think I mean a lot to you…"

"You do my friend…"

"But that's just it. Are-are we 'just friends' or something….I don't know, something MORE?"

After spitting out that word Tyler looked into his friend's eyes, looking for something he wasn't sure was there. Al could see this wasn't easy for him. Frankly it wasn't easy for Al either, but he knew the answer.

"What…what about Lindsey?"

"She's sweet," Tyler quickly said, " but she's not you…"

Silence.

"But when we first met, you said you liked girls."

"I do, I do! But…I-I like you too…"

More silence.

"Tyler, close your eyes."

"What?"

"Close your eyes."

"Uuh, not what I was expecting but ok."

He slowly closed his café colored eyes. Tyler didn't know what to expect. A fist in the face, a hug, a restraining order? He was nervous and didn't feel anything for a moment, but right before he was about to open his eyes again he felt them.

Alejandro's lips, pressed against his own.

They kissed for what seemed like years, taking in each other's essence. Tyler pulled Al close to him over the railing of his bed, running his strong fingers through his latin lover's newly grown hair. They never wanted that moment, that first embrace, to end. When it did though, Tyler opened his eyes and saw his friend, happier than he had ever known him. They just looked at each other for a while, neither knowing just quite what to say, until,

"Yes my friend, we are more."

The next day, the sport-o and the season three runner up laid in his bed watching the premier of the next season of 'Total Drama.'

"Dude, do you know what I wish?" Tyler looked at the boy on who's chest he was laying.

"That my legs weren't broken in five different places?"

"Well, yeah that too. But I only wish you hadn't lost the million, you disserved it." Tyler looked up at him with café colored puppy dog eyes.

Alejandro laughed a little and gave his boyfriend a peck on the cheek.

"Tyler, "He kissed him again, on the lips this time, "I haven't lost a thing."


End file.
